Andrew stood by the edge of the massive crater. It appeared out of nowhere. His mind told him that it must have been caused by the earthquake earlier. It must have, he thought. But it gave him doubts when one of his students reported that they found the townsfolk surrounding a fountain.

‘What is the fountain then? Or something else?’ He questioned its origin in his heart.

As he pondered for answers, a ranger came to report “Sir, All communications and devices are up and working. We’ve also contacted Captain Stalone. They’re on the way as we speak.”

He heard him without turning. ‘If Team 1 is on their way, they must have successfully secured the portal,’ he thought inwardly.

The ranger hesitated momentarily before continuing. “As for Anemone and Cross... we haven’t found them yet.”

Hearing the bad news, he knitted his brows. Two members of the most influential families went missing under his watch. If the higher-ups know of this, they’ll have his head on a platter. They were his students but at the same time a thorn in his career. He cares for them but not when his neck is hanging by a rope.

He dismissed the ranger and turned to the person in a hazmat bodysuit while being handcuffed on a chair. “You can blame me for this. But I was following strict orders.” He crouched down to her. “You can read me all you want.”

Red 2 glared at him with hostility. Her black eyes turned crimson but she looked away. “I don’t care about that. I care about them.” she said. Her thoughts were only of Anemone and Cross. “They’re your students. So is mine.” she murmured.

Andrew heard her. “You think I don’t know that,” he raised his voice. “No one expected for this to happen. No one.”

Red 2 gritted her teeth when he said that. She didn’t think they’d be in this kind of situation. They were responsible for their students’ lives.

Andrew inhaled deeply to calm down his anger as he looked at her. Her face looking away. He then gently cupped her chin to make her look at him. “I care about them too,” he said as he lowered his tone. “I’ll do everything to get them back.” he appeased her.

Seeing his sincerity, Red 2 questioned her trust for him. At that moment, she wanted to read his thoughts and hidden agendas. But it wasn’t worth using her powers on someone like him, she thought as she lowered her gaze. She would use it to locate her two students instead. She freed herself from his cup and closed her eyes.

“They’re alive.” she said after a while. “They’ve fallen down there.” She gestured her head at the abyss.

Andrew followed her gaze and sighed in relief. “I’ll send a rescue team.”

He then stood up, turning his back on her. As he did so, he pressed his thumb and middle finger. With a snap, the handcuffs came undone. “I’m sorry,” he said.

Red 2 caressed her wrists from the current shock. Somehow, their powers came back after the earthquake. She couldn’t help but think that he was not telling her something.

“Tell me… What is this place?” She needed an answer.

He turned to her with a deadpan expression. The hesitation however was present in his gaze.

Red 2 waited for him. But the words that came out from his mouth made every fiber of her skin stand erect.

“Welcome to the Dead Zone.”

————

Merlin dragged Quinn out of the water. They’ve fallen deep into an underwater cave, which has saved their lives.

Quinn coughed the water out from her lungs as she lay against rocks and gravel. Her chest heaved up and down for breath. She looked at Merlin who was drench as she was. His so-called perfect hair was a mess.

“You should’ve not touched it.” she said in a low voice.

Merlin heard her murmur as he sat quietly without a clue where she was getting at.

"I saw you." she added. "That coin… did something to you. You were fucking drawn to it!” Her voice raised. “And this happened!"

Merlin finally looked at her. “Don’t blame me for this shit, I didn’t do anything.” He didn’t notice the change in her tone. “Whatever the fuck that this is, I had noth—”

His words were cut short when a punch came flying his way. He dodged by leaning backwards, back-flipping into a stand. His eyes locked onto her. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

Quinn launched a powerful attack, her hand wrapped in white energy. A murderous intent seeped out from her being.

Merlin had noticed their powers had come back as he glared at her. He then glanced down at his hand, summoning his. Shit! He cussed inwardly. He was in real deep shit. He wouldn’t be able to subdue her with the last power he copied. He put his guard up. ‘I shouldn’t use that. I can only subdue her by physical force.’

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Quinn dashed with an uppercut. But her eyes widened the next moment. Her fist slipped through into the air. Before she realized what had happened, a jab hit her on the face. Blood dripped on the side of her mouth.

Merlin quickly took a step back as soon as she came towards him. He didn’t want to hurt her but she was going out of control. If he couldn’t put her down, he’d be the punching bag. She was a baggage in his eyes, but she was also powerful. She had the strength to back it up. If only she had a breakthrough, then maybe he wouldn’t look down on her. At that moment, he noticed a dark spot forming just below her left ribs.

“Quinn, calm down. You’re hurt.”

She wasn’t listening, her composure gone.

Merlin was agile to dodge every attack she came at him. He wasn’t going to back down either and gave her a good fight. He wasn’t in the mood but he had to deal with her outrage. He then found an opportunity to tackle her down. He wrestled with all his strength to pin her against the rough surface with a hand tightly gripping her wrists. She struggled but the next moment made her scream in pain.

Merlin punched her bleeding wound.

Quinn squirmed beneath him to free herself but to no avail. He was keeping her in check with his lower body. Tears formed on her eyes as she agonized in torment. Her breathing ragged.

“It’s all your fault. It’s all your fault.” she cried below him.

Merlin gritted his teeth as he felt guilty. His face turned ugly by the sight of her. He slowly released his grip.

Shedding tears nonstop, Quinn gave him punch after punch on his torso. Merlin gave in and let her release her outburst. Her punches didn’t hurt him anymore as if she wasn’t even trying at that point. Her energy drained.

He didn’t know what to do at the moment as he lost his composure like she did. His arms came to wrap around her into an embrace, to comfort her in pain as tears continued to roll down on his shoulder.

————

Quinn laid down in a fetal position as she calmed down from her sudden outrage, her back against Merlin who was gathering wood not too far for fire. She felt a warm breeze when it was all set. She then sensed his presence as he crouched behind her back.

“Hey… Let me see your wound.”

She didn’t turn right away and sat up but did so only after a while. Merlin was being patient with her.

As she slowly removed her outer uniform, the pain on her side made her twitch. She tolerated it until she lifted her sleeveless top just below her breast.

Merlin looked at her injury and thought that she must have hit a rock when they hit water. He then summoned an energy to his palm. “This might hurt.” he said and brought it to her wound.

Quinn shivered slightly as he healed her. The pain subsided when the cut was closed.

“Thank you.” she said after a while.

Merlin didn’t say anything else but was concerned with their soaked attires. “We’ll have to dry up.” he said and looked away as he flushed for a moment. “You’ll have to remove the rest of your clothes.”

————

Merlin hung their uniforms on a tree branch with his pants still on him while Quinn rested against the trunk with only a top and underwear on her body. The cold made her shiver as she tried to warm herself.

Before he could finally take a seat, Merlin made sure that they were safe by looking around earlier when he gathered for wood. The underwater cave was absent of any monster.

Seeing her continuous quiver, he offered to sit behind her.

Quinn was reluctant at first but she moved herself so he could take position with his back leaning against the tree. Merlin then wrapped his arms around her. His embrace gave her warmth.

They both stared at the campfire as silence prevailed between the two of them.

“I’m sorry.” Quinn finally said. “I don’t know what came over me. I lost myself back there. If you didn’t stop me, I might have done something worse.”

Merlin was taken aback. “No, It should be me.” he said “You were right though. It was my fault I got us into this situation. I got us into this mess so I’m sorry.” He apologized sincerely. “That coin… whatever that thing is, I felt drawn to it somehow,” he added. “I can’t explain it.”

Quinn listened as she didn’t know what to say. It was wrong of her to blame him but she couldn’t deny her animosity. It took a lot of her mentally to set her anger aside.

“I panicked…” she said after a while “When I saw how dark it is down here, I got scared for the second time. The first was when we fell from up there. I thought I’d die. Merlin, my whole life flashed before my eyes. I thought I’d never see my family again.” Tears began to roll once again as she opened up to him. “I thought I’d never see my brother.”

Merlin was quiet as he didn’t know how to comfort her. He was also scared deep inside.

“Are we gonna die down here?” Quinn couldn’t help but ask.

Merlin leaned his head against the trunk. “I’m sure Andrew has located us and has sent a rescue team. They’ll be here soon.” he appeased her.

Quinn wiped away the tears on her cheeks as she remembered a bad memory. She felt she needed to be heard at least once. “When I was a kid, my brother and I used to play hide and seek all the time. There was this time when I hid in what I thought was a chest. I waited for him to come but he didn’t. I stayed there for hours until the box was moved somewhere else. I screamed and I screamed loudly that I was in there. But they couldn’t hear me. I was trapped and unable to move much. I was losing oxygen as well. At that moment, fear overtook me. I felt paralyzed and suffocating. I tried to dig myself out but it was too dark. It was just too dark. My father later found me unconscious. When I woke up, I was horrified to hear the news that it wasn’t a chest where I hid myself. Merlin, it was a coffin. I was buried six feet under.”

Merlin was shocked by her story. She went through a horrible experience at such a young age. It was worse than battling against a monster, he thought. “I’m sorry to hear that.” he said apologetically.

Quinn finally felt safe with him after letting him listen to a bad memory. The two of them sat there silently without a word afterwards.

As they sat for warmth, she put her hair to one side, her shoulder and neck exposed to him.

Merlin stared at her smooth skin. She was smooth, he thought. He couldn’t help but to bring his fingers there, running gently against it.

Quinn felt his fingers on her neck as he ran it along behind her ear down her shoulders. She breathed softly to it as she didn’t mind what he was doing.

She then felt him closer as he leaned his head on her shoulder. She could hear him breathing, heavily but softly to her ear. A wet damp, she then felt as he tightened his arms around her.

Merlin gave her a peck on the neck. Then a kiss as she turned her head to him.